The Best of Million Dollar Journey – 2018 Edition!

Feels not too long ago that I was writing the 2017 year-end post, but here we are, the end of 2018! This past year was significant in a few ways.

On a personal level, I started a new career that has helped me grow professionally and honestly has been a lot of fun. There is truth in finding work that you enjoy so that it doesn’t even feel like you’re working! From my experience, the key is to keep things fresh and to keep learning. Once things get stale, try to find new responsibilities with your employer, or even look outside for new opportunities.

From a family perspective, the kids are getting older, but so are we! With the big 40 year milestone around the corner, I don’t feel a day over 38. Kidding aside, with our social circle getting older as well, time feels like it’s passing too quickly and I’m increasingly getting the feeling that life should be as fun as possible. Perhaps I’m getting my version of a mid-life crisis, who knows, I may be buying that sports car sooner rather than later.

Financially, even though we hit the $1M milestone in 2014, and the $1M portfolio milestone in 2017, we are still focused on generating passive income. We hit a big milestone in surpassing $45k in dividend income and will continue to build on this until we reach our goal of $60k in a couple years. The end goal is to generate enough passive income to pay for our recurring expenses. Once that goal is reached, I imagine that we will continue to build wealth, but perhaps with a new focus. Time will tell!

In terms of the markets, it seems that 2018 was a pivot year. With the bull market running since 2009, it really was time for a meaningful correction. I’m seeing headlines that 2018 has been the worst year since 2008 but don’t let that scare you. Stay invested and keep your eye on the horizon. In fact, if you have some cash, look for opportunities to build your portfolio at lower prices.

Back to the point of the post!

Here are some of the top articles from Million Dollar Journey in 2018

How compounding returns make you rich – This is a pillar post on a fundamental concept of investing – compounding returns. Discover the raw power of time combined with compound interest/returns with graphical examples. This is a must read especially for young investors.

Vanguard All in One ETFs – Perhaps the best financial product released in 2018. These low cost all in one ETFs make it super easy for the DIY investor to efficiently build their portfolio. Bravo to Vanguard for bringing these ETFs to Canada.

Dogs of the TSX 2018 edition – This is a dividend strategy picks the top yielding blue chip companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange. This article describes the new picks for 2018. In a future post, I will have 2019 picks along with the results for 2018.

About the author: FT is the founder and editor of Million Dollar Journey (est. 2006). Through various financial strategies outlined on this site, he grew his net worth from $200,000 in 2006 to $1,000,000 by 2014. You can read more about him here.